


Limbo

by RetroCrow



Series: Limbo Series [1]
Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, But until then, Drama, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Horror, No one is safe sorry, Only relation to canon is the blood moon ball tbh, Purgatory AU, Slow Burn, Suspense, Things will end up okay, Violence, i love suffering and now you are subjected to it too, its dramatic, literally everyone is dead but its cool, we all in this now lads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 16:16:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15247065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetroCrow/pseuds/RetroCrow
Summary: In life, they danced under the light of the Blood Moon, their souls bound together through rhythm and movement...But that was many years ago now. Time, marching ever forward, has split the once intertwined souls apart, as one who has long since passed on, is given new direction, the other has been left behind, set adrift in the cosmos of the afterlife...





	Limbo

Cold. That was the first thing the boy felt as his senses came to him. It was cold and dark, yet not entirely so, as the boy slowly came to his senses he became increasingly aware of the ache his body felt from laying on the hard ground.

As the boy continued to regain himself and the position he was in he focused on what he knew for certain. His name was Marco Diaz, karate fighter, dimension traveller, nacho connoisseur. As Marco fully regained consciousness, he came to another realization. He was now dead. This thought didn’t seem to startle or surprise Marco as much as one might think, he couldn’t seem to remember his life, only that he was alive. He couldn’t remember his death either. Perhaps thats how it is for everyone? 

Marco took a break from pondering to study his surroundings, he seemed to be in a clearing of some sort, bushes and trees surrounded him on all sides the world seemed quiet and all color seemed muted, but not lifeless. Behind him stood a steep cliff face, and above him there was no sky, only an eerie blackness; could he be underground? 

Slowly standing up, Marco stretched, he’d noticed that he himself seemed to be young, possibly in his twenties, however Marco had a feeling that he had lived long after that age. Starting ahead, Marco had no goal in mind but he felt as though he may find some answers if he searched for them. 

As Marco wandered through the scattered woodlands, he began to feel increasingly confused, his thoughts, questions, and concerns filling his head enough to make it pound; but he continued onward until he came up to a small ravine made accessible by an old wood bridge. The bridge seemed sturdy enough, but still Marco hesitated, cautious of how much trust he should put into an old bridge in the middle of nowhere. As he was pondering this though, he felt a sudden sense of urgency as he heard he rustle of movement in the brush behind him. 

Marco turned on his heel, muscles trained to go in a fighting stance as his eyes scanned the terrain, waiting for any other disturbance that might give away the location of whatever else was out here with him. Fleetingly, Marco considered the possibility that it could be another spirit like himself, instead of something to be feared. Marco didn’t have much time to prepare however, as a large black shadow figure came racing out from the brush, its features vaguely humanoid, but Marco didn’t have much time to observe. 

Quickly changing his plans, Marco decided he didn’t want to stick around. Turning around again, he set off across the wooden bridge crossing it as quick and light as he could. His previous worry seemed unnecessary however, as both he and the beast crossed the bridge with ease. With no direction, Marco zig zagged through the trees in an attempt to rid himself of this... creature, who he could still hear heaving heavily not far behind him. 

Right after rounding a large tree, Marco felt something grasp his ankle and he tumbled forward, and landed quite unceremoniously on his face. Losing no time Marco twisted to see what he’d caught his leg on; letting out a scream as he realized there was a hand reaching out from a bush and grasping at his ankle. 

“Hush, now, and come in quick,” a voice whispered from the bush. Uneasy but preferring any company to the beast currently stalking him, Marco crawled into the large bush, struggling to keep his eyes clear of branches and leaves.

“What is tha-“ Marco began, before a hand draped over his mouth roughly. 

The two strangers stayed silently inside the bush both listening carefully; they could hear the sounds of the strange shadow being as it roamed around no doubt looking to resume its chase. After a few moments the noise settled down, and it wasn’t until a few moments after that when the cloaked figure removed their hand from Marco’s face. “I am sure you have questions, but keep them short and quiet. Those beasts they do not have a decent sense of smell, but some can hear well, so we are not entirely safe. You are... recently deceased I assume?” although it was hard to see in the dark bushes, Marco could just make out a quizzical expression on their face.

“Yeah... actually,” it occurred to Marco that this was his first time speaking since he woke up. His voice seemed what he assumed was normal, but it was still somewhat strange to him, “I just woke up here, and I was searching around when I- that thing found me. My name’s Marco Diaz by the way.” Marco held out his hand towards his new companion.

However they hesitated, before awkwardly placing their hand on top of his, “I... see.. my name has long since been forgotten by me, but I do call myself Shrub. It is nice to meet you Marco, I have not had company in quite some time, save for the Lost Ones like the one you have met. Not much is out here, that is why I am, soon I am to join them.” Shrub removed their hood, revealing a young-looking girl with long dirty blonde hair, however as she opened her eyes, Marco was surprised to see them as nothing but empty black circles. 

“I will be telling you about this world, but now we must be moving. No sense in staying into the bushes. Come now.” First looking out cautiously, and then fully emerging from the bush, Marco and Shrub patted themselves down before Shrub lead the way through the forest. “We must move quickly, normally it is quite easy to avoid the wandering beast’s view, but your bright cloak is quite eye-catching.” Marco looked at his red hoodie; it was an old friend, he was sure, but he considered taking it off if it meant his safety was on the line. No need for unnecessary risk, he thought. He took a moment to take in this strange girl’s appearance; she was short and had long hair, funnily enough a few leaves and twigs stuck out in different directions, she wore a long charcoal hooded cloak that went down to her knees, just enough for black pants and shoes to be visible as she walked briskly through the forest. 

It only took a while before the two reached another cliff, a rope hanging down from it. “Are you able to climb?” Shrub pointed up toward the top of the cliff. 

“I can manage.” Marco looked up, it would definitely be a workout, but he was sure he could make it. 

It was for sure a workout. Marco heaved himself up to the top of the cliff, taking in a few breaths before shakily rising to his feet. There was a small tent set up, alongside an old campfire pit and a wheelbarrow with no wheels. 

“This is my home, I came here very long ago, when I felt myself fading.” Shrub disappeared into the tent, and came back with two mismatched pillows, setting them next to the unlit fire pit. “I will tell you all you need to know, and then, you will leave.” Shrub smiled lightly.

“That... sounds fair..” Marco was rather at a loss, more eager to have a better understanding of his surroundings than to focus on what to do next. 

“This world is one of passing, all beings of all dimensions of the living come through this place, it is one of many worlds, all combined, all dangerous. It is a place where spirits must conquer and discover peace, with themselves, their death, or with others. No two souls find peace the same way, there is no answer and no direction. You said your name, so you know yourself, this is common for those who likely lived a long life and had accepted their death before greeting it.” Shrub nodded to herself for a bit, “I once knew myself, however that was very very long ago, memories are a precious thing, but for those who wander for too long grow more lost, more confused, and as such lose themselves. Those are ones such as I, not lost, but far from found; many souls grow desperate in this time, but I simply separated from my previous companions and remain here.” 

“That is... really sad,” Marco stared down at his hands, “Do you need help?” 

Shrub placed a hand to her mouth and giggled lightly, “No, I am fine. I do not mind my fate, I will be glad for the rest.” 

“So now, continued. The confused souls that cannot find resolution will become more desperate and more corrupted, once they have lost themselves entirely they become what you had seen, shadowy monsters that lurk in the dark. They know not of consciousness, they chase and attack spirits that are not lost as they are. There are many names for them, the Lost Ones, Shadows, the Beasts, there is no certain knowledge as to why they are aggressive, only that they are all that way. But they, too will eventually fade from this world.” 

“What do you believe?” Marco asked.

Shrub was silent for a moment, before letting out a hmmf, “I care not what they want, I only wish for them to go away.” 

Marco laughed weakly, struggling to process this information so that he could use it effectively on his travels. Shrub cleared her throat a bit, “They are a nuisance though, do avoid them as much as possible. As a spirit you will neither have need to sleep or eat, but rest is important. Some spirits do not wish to search for their peace, you may find those who are settled, rest with them if you can, it is always good.” Shrub stood and walked to one side of the tent near the edge of the cliff. 

“Much time ago this was the way that I came to this land, you will find a gateway separating these woods from the plains, there are many relics in the plains and many souls settled there. There are also Guides wandering in the afterlife, light spirits who will help others find peace; if you can find one then you will escape this world. Farewell, Marco, it has been fun. But I do hope we do not meet again.” 

Although Marco knew what she meant, the words still stung a bit, but he didn’t hesitate in sharing a short hug with his first post-mortem friend. Slowly he made his way down the rope, careful not to fall. As he was headed down, Marco thought about the slew of information he’d just learned and how he should go about ingraining it into his head. Marco was, of course, a man of structure, he liked his rules and schedules and was very loyal to them. This world, however seemed to feel the opposite, a lawless world where time doesn’t exist. Where should he start his search? What is it that would bring him peace? Marco thought of things that make him happy, he knew he loved relaxing things, nachos and watching soap operas or horror movies, but he also knew he loved excitement and adventure. Fighting and hanging out with people he loved, who were they exactly? He knew he had many special people in his life, but their names and faces evaded him. Had they all moved on, or could they perhaps be here? Would he even know his previous friends if he saw them? 

As Marco reached the bottom he removed his hoodie, tied it around his waste to help avoid attention. As he walked away from the cliff, Marco looked at Shrub’s cloaked figure, he could just see her long blonde hair hanging out from her hood. The two waved somber goodbyes as Marco headed off in the direction she had given him. Marco knew his first task would be to find the Plains, based on Shrub’s description it seemed to be something similar to a city, as much as one could be down here.

So Marco headed through the sparse woods, cautiously keeping an eye out for any of the shadowy beasts as a he wandered to the unknown.

**Author's Note:**

> heyy this is my first real fanfic? and im pretty hype guys i hope this is exciting enough to take off!  
> a lotta people link their tumblrs on here so mine is retro-crow if u wanna hmu


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